The Unofficial Date
by Ira-Grace White
Summary: A new one-shot based on the episode "Cold Case". This was inspired by a comment that I received from one of my reviewers. This is a glimpse at Jack's date that Lucy and Tara bought for Sue at the bachelor's auction. What will Jack and Sue do?


**Disclaimers: I do not own the characters from "Sue Thomas: F B Eye". They belong to Paxson Entertainment and the Johnson Brothers. I simply enjoy writing about them. Also, this story was inspired by a comment from DD, one of my most faithful readers and reviewers! Their comment said, "...I was watching Cold Case the other day and you know when Jack is doing his interview thingy for the bachelor video and he says whoever wins him, he was gonna take to a football game. I wish somebody would write a one shot on their date and all." Thank you, DD, for the inspiration. This story is dedicated to you. Once I read your comment, I was excited to write out that one-shot! (I think that I might have wondered about that date at one point, but I hadn't put it onto my one-shot list until you brought it up.) I had fun creating this story and I hope that you enjoy the final result.**

 **So, with another "thank you" to DD, let's go read, review, and enjoy this one-shot based off of "Cold Case".**

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Jack asked Sue after a long day of work one Friday.

"What?" Sue asked, rubbing her forehead. She felt tired, and Jack's question was confusing her. Why would she see him on that Saturday? Was there a case that they had to finish?

"Tomorrow? The game - remember?" Jack repeated.

"No, I don't," Sue said, sitting down in the nearest chair. "Please remind me. What is going on?"

"Our date," Jack said. Sue did not miss seeing everyone turn to look toward her and Jack once he said those words. She blushed and Jack looked flustered too.

"Jack," Sue said softly, "We aren't dating. It isn't allowed." _Not that I would not like to date you. I simply am not allowed._

"Well, you bought me so get this date. I don't think that anyone will try to stop you from receiving what you purchased." Jack glanced around at all of the eavesdroppers, then whispered to Sue, "How about we head down to the parkade since we're both leaving?" Sue understood the secret message of _There's more privacy once we leave this room._

"Sounds good," she said. She waved good-bye to everyone in the room, then left with Levi and Jack. She and Jack could not help noticing the crestfallen expressions on the thwarted, nosy co-workers.

As they waited for the elevator Sue tried to think of when she would have bought a date from Jack. The mere sound of it was ludicrous. When would a woman ever stoop to buying a date from the man that she loved? She was not that desperate yet. After all, men were supposed to make the first move, were they not? Then she suddenly remembered. The bachelor's auction. _Lucy and Tara "bought" Jack for me without my knowledge. How could I have possibly forgotten?_

"I...suppose not." _I can't let on to him that I actually never did buy him. And he's right - I can't imagine any of the supervisors being against this. After all, it was a charity fundraiser and it isn't like we're dating seriously or anything. It's like an unofficial date. There's nothing wrong with that._ "What were your plans again?" Sue asked Jack.

"I got tickets for the Giants/Redskins game tomorrow night. It starts at 7:00. We could go out for dinner before and then go to the game."

"Sounds good," Sue said with a smile. "I'll see if Lucy can babysit Levi; it'll be easier to leave him behind than to try to control him in a noisy crowd. He'd be trying to alert me of sounds all the time."

Jack laughed. "Yeah, maybe leave Knucklehead behind this time."

Levi looked up and whined reproachfully.

"Hey, I'll get you a hot dog or doughnut or something to make up for it," Jack told the golden retriever.

Levi barked in approval. Jack and Sue laughed.

"I wonder how much he really understands," Jack pondered.

"A lot!" Sue stated. "He is a very smart dog." She turned back to Jack. "So, about our date..." She paused, flustered. _I always wanted to say those words, but it seems so strange to finally say them._ She continued, "Tomorrow, what time should I be ready?"

Jack thought for a moment, then said, "How about 5:00? Then we have an hour to eat and an hour to get to the stadium, park, find our seats, and all."

The threesome had reached their parking spaces, conveniently right next to each other.

"Sounds good!" Sue said brightly. "I'll see you at 5:00 then."

"At 5:00," Jack repeated. "Have a great evening, Sue. You too, Levi." He nodded to them and got into his car. So did Sue. They drove out, one behind the other, and went their separate ways. Yet both were thinking of the same thing - the next evening, their first official, yet unofficial, date.

...

At 5:00 sharp there was a knock on the door. Levi ran to Sue, eager to be helpful, and alerted her. She walked over to the door and answered it.

"Hi, Jack." Jack was standing on the doorstep with a bouquet of daisies.

"Hey, Sue," he said, holding out the flowers. "Uh, roses seemed a bit formal for a sporting event date, so I thought these might suit the occasion better," he said, almost sheepishly.

"Oh, thank you!" Sue exclaimed, taking the cheerful bouquet. "I love daisies - they are some of my favourite flowers and I haven't seen any for so long! Thank you! Let me put these in water and then we can go." She held the door open for Jack, then went to find a vase to hold the white and yellow flowers.

When she finished she came back. Jack waved his hand to get her attention, then signed, "You look beautiful."

Sue blushed with pleasure. "Thank you," she signed. She had been unsure of how to dress, but had gone with a knee-length denim skirt and a light blue, casual blouse with a slight v-neckline.

"Ready to go?" Jack signed.

"Yes," Sue nodded. Levi tried to push his way past her through the doorway. "Levi," Sue scolded, "no, you aren't coming."

Levi whined and barked.

"He disagrees," Jack stated.

"Too bad. I'm not taking him," Sue said, gently pushing Levi back into the house despite his protests. "I can't hear you, Levi, so stop barking." Sue stood and called into the house, "Bye, Lucy. I'm going with Jack now."

"Okay!" Lucy yelled. Sue turned to Jack. "Did she respond?"

"Yes. She said 'okay'."

"Then let's go."

Despite Levi's valiant attempts at leaving with them, Jack and Sue got away alone and soon arrived at a new restaurant Jack suggested that they try.

"It isn't fancy, but I thought you might like it," he explained.

It was called "The Macho Nacho", a restaurant known for its custom-made nachos. The abundance of toppings and sauces was overwhelming. Jack and Sue shared their orders, enjoying the flavourful food. The large servings were more than generous, and both of them agreed that it was too bad that Levi was not there to help them finish the left-overs. However, they made enough room to split a piece of the specialty dark chocolate spice cake, a marvellous creation that had them both declare that it was the best chocolate cake that they had ever eaten. They talked and ate and laughed. Away from the stresses of work that normally surrounded them, the two found themselves enjoying each others company even more than they did normally.

Jack finally glanced at his watch. "I think we should probably go now. It's 6:10, and there'll be lots of traffic around the stadium."

Jack picked up the tab and held the door open for Sue as they left. As they drove to the stadium, Sue turned to Jack. "So, who is playing tonight?"

"The Giants versus the Redskins," he said with a grin. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Okay. Who should I cheer for?"

"Redskins. Wait, who do you normally root for in the NFL?"

Sue laughed. "I don't even know the difference among any of the teams." Teasingly, she added, "This is soccer, isn't it?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Football, Sue, football. Cheer for the Redskins, then. They are the home team, based from Washington, D.C.. And to avoid confusion, they are the burgundy, gold, and white team."

...

"GO!" Sue shrieked at the players. She then seemed to recollect herself and turned to Jack. "Sorry. I got carried away there."

"Don't apologize," Jack called back. "I love seeing you get so involved in it!"

Between cheering for the Redskins, who were winning over the Giants, and Jack explaining the game to Sue to clear up her confusion, the two munched on pizza and pretzels and drank soda pop from the concession stands. The two were amazed at how they could possibly still eat after all the nachos and cake, but they could.

The Redskins won the game by just enough points that it was close, but still a good victory. Jack and Sue were excited and elated as they left the stadium. Jack bought Sue a souvenir from the gift store. She could not decide what she wanted, so he finally bought her a baseball hat with the Redskin logo on it.

"Thank you," Sue said, putting it on. "I'll have to get in the habit of wearing ball caps now." _How thoughtful of him, but when will I ever wear this? I'll have to at some point. This was a very expensive hat, but he insisted._

...

"Thank you for tonight," Sue said as Jack parked in front of her apartment building. "I had a great time."

"I had fun too," Jack said. "So, was the date what you wanted?"

Sue grinned at him. "More. I never knew sports could be so exciting." And that having a date with you would be so much fun. She glanced toward the window of her apartment. Lucy was looking down at them. "So much for privacy," she sighed, pointing to the window. Jack looked up and shook his head.

"Does she ever give up?"

"No," Sue said, unbuckling her seatbelt, then paused for a moment. "Thanks again, Jack." _I wish that we really could date._

Jack leaned over, out of sight of Lucy's prying eyes, and gently kissed Sue's cheek. It was a magical moment where only the two of them existed. But like all magical moments that happen in the real world, it had to end. Jack finally sat back. Sue recovered herself, then said, "I should..."

Jack nodded, "Oh...yeah...let me help you get your door." He got out and opened Sue's door. As he bent over near her, Sue, in an unusual boldness, leaned over and dropped a soft kiss on his cheek. He froze, then looked at her. She could not quite read his expression, but she thought that he was pleased.

Sue finally got out and walked up to the apartment with Jack by her side. She could just imagine Lucy's disappointment when Jack left her with a simple wave and smile and a "see you on Monday morning." Sue was determined that she was not going to give up her information about the kisses, no matter how much Lucy questioned, poked, and prodded.

 _If only_...Sue thought to herself as she opened the door.

 _If only_...Jack thought as he watched her while he drove away.

They both put it down in their memories as their first official-yet-unofficial date, and they both could only hope that it would not be their last.


End file.
